President Suzanne Coile reports that the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Area Central Labor Council unanimously endorsed HR 676, national single payer health care legislation, at its April, 2012 meeting. “Everyone completely agreed on HR 676,” said Coile, “and all of us are totally opposed to any kind of voucher system.”

Coile spoke of the health care crisis in her region. “Twice last year the Remote Area Medical (RAM) free clinic came to Knoxville, and the people who needed care began lining up at midnight the night before. The need is so great, even for Knoxville which has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Tennessee.”

Suzanne Coile’s union is OPEIU Local 2001 which represents workers in the Tennessee Valley Authority System. The Knoxville-Oak Ridge Area Central Labor Council represents union workers in fourteen counties including Knox, Blount, and Anderson in the eastern part of Tennessee. It is the 140th Central Labor Council to endorse HR 676.